Biometric authentication technologies have been disclosed recently to determine whether to authenticate a person by using biometric information such as fingerprints and vein patterns. Biometric authentication technologies are widely used for determining whether to allow access to various services such as determining permission to enter or exit a room, determining whether to allow use of a computer, or confirming users for online transactions and the like.
Fingerprints are known as an example of biometric information used for biometric authentication. However, there is a risk that biometric information exposed on the outer surface of a body such as fingerprints may be copied. Conversely, a biometric authentication technology that uses subcutaneous biometric information demonstrates excellent security since subcutaneous biometric information such as vein patterns is difficult to copy. Accordingly, a technique that uses vein patterns for biometric authentication has been proposed, see, for example, Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication 2008-134854.